Reading the reviews out there, I thought I was going to step off my Japan Airlines (JAL) 787-9 business class flight with a sore back…but I found the seat perfectly comfortable.
JAL 787-9 Business Class: My First Impressions
After my glorious flight to Tokyo Haneda in JAL First Class, I connected to Seoul Gimpo on a JAL 787-9 in business class. That aircraft has the Sky Suite III product, a reverse-herringbone business class seat that, on first glance, looks much like you find on many other carriers.
But I was warned that the seat is terribly uncomfortable, rock hard, and consequently one of the worst business class seats currently on the market. Perhaps my two-hour journey from Tokyo to Seoul was not enough time to fully hate it, I actually found the seat adequate…and even comfortable.
The cabin is attractive and the seats, while firm, struck me as more comfortable in the upright position than my recent flight on ex-Aeroflot Turkish Airlines on the A350-900. Yes, the seat was firm (just like my mattress is at home), but it was not at all uncomfortable. And in the lie-flat position, I thought there was plenty of room for my feet.
On these regional flights between South Korea and Japan, JAL serves a set menu…there is no choice. The menu alternates between a Japanese meal and a Western meal every month. April 2024 happened to be a Western meal and shortly after takeoff, a dinner of salmon with pasta was served. There was a trio of appetizers, a fruit side dish, and warm bread roll on the tray as well.
After the meal, dessert (ice cream) and coffee were served.
For a 735-mile flight, this was an excellent. In the US, where I live, the legacy carriers (American, Delta, United) only serve meals on flights over 900 miles. Had this flight been in the USA, I would have received a packaged snack. Alaska Airlines is the only exception but serves a very light meal on its flights under 1,100 miles.
This flight had the Magic VI entertainment system (so annoying) in which you have to scroll through the options on your handheld device…the screen remains black until you make a selection. I simply cannot understand why JAL chose this type of IFE system.
Wi-Fi was also available. My pass from the previous flight carried over.
I’ll have more details about the flight and the amenities onboard when I publish my full review. But my point here was that I found the oft-maligned Sky Suite III product much more comfortable than I was expecting.
So you just never order Japanese meals on a Japanese carrier huh?
Did you read what I wrote? There was no choice. Everyone received the same meal.
And I did order a Japanese meal on the previous flight.
Apparently not!
“Perhaps my two-hour journey from Tokyo to Seoul was not enough time to fully hate it”
Yeah, you need a long haul or mid haul flight with those seats to really get the true feel of them.
Japan Airlines gets overshadowed by ANA as far as Japanese carriers go, and by Cathay Pacific as far as Oneworld carriers go. It’s easy to forget including it among the best airlines in the world.
I’ve long preferred JAL to both ANA and Cathay Pacific and this trip just reinforces that notion.
Unless you’re on the new product, ANA has a pretty middle of the road offering these days from the planes to the lounge.
The ground experience and older seats, arguably…but the soft product on board is particularly great.
Flew it on the 6 hr redeye HND-BKK last year and while it felt tight in terms of space, I got a decent 4.5 hrs of proper sleep and found it quite comfortable. But maybe I was just too tired given the 1am departure.
“consequently one of the worst business class seats currently on the market”
Well, this was probably in a longhaul context, even within Asia there are definitely far worse on narrowbodies/20+ year old 767s…
Just in case there’s some other economy fliers like me in the comments section, JAL has 8 across seating (2-4-2) in their 787 economy class vs. 9 across (3-3-3) in most other carriers. On my SEA to NRT trip I found the seats reasonably comfortable for long haul and the food and service were great!
JAL has that same clunky entertainment controller in their international first class cabin too. A total step backward, and completely inexplicable.